Monday, December 22, 2008

Brutual

As I shuffled through the snow just before midnight on Saturday, I figured shoveling the 3-5 inches that were on the ground would be a piece of cake. It was light and fluffy and could be pushed away easily.

But then the temperatures did a nosedive and the wind picked up. I awoke on Sunday morning listening to the wind howl outside. Unbeknownst to me, the temps were now below zero. Not knowing that was a good thing as I bundled. It would have put me at a mental disadvantage knowing it was really cold out there and knowing I would have to brave the bitter winds.

It was those bitter winds that made shoveling a bitch. The snow was no longer just laying there on the sidewalks. It had been blown into 2 foot drifts. Parts of the sidewalk were now barren but others were deep. Anywhere you walked you were greeted by the crunch of snow. It sounded like you were walking on Styrofoam. I dove in and began to clear it all up. I had just finished clearing the walks when I noticed some sweat had dripped down my sunglasses and frozen solid. That should have clued me in to how cold it truly was outside. The wind was a good indication as gusted making it sound brutally cold outside. But I persisted and got the driveway done and went inside to enjoy my coffee. It wasn’t until I watched the news later that night would I discover the temp was probably around -5. See, I was better off not knowing.

I didn’t do much yesterday. I was in a funk from watching the Cowboys blow it on Saturday night. I sat around the house doing little things and playing old time video games. Later I would stare at the gifts for the family and decide to dive into those. Let the record show that if there is one thing I totally despise about the holidays, it is wrapping gifts. I have gone from sucking at it to not giving a damn. If I can, I will get a friend to do it for me, but lately I have not been able to convince anyone to do it. So I end up getting out the wrapping paper, but here, tape there, and then fold it all together. Sure I could be trimming off excess paper and folding it into a tight, neat package, but that would mean working more at something I don’t like doing. So I apply the wood cutting method. Measure twice and cut once. And I do mean cut once. As I fold over paper, if I notice there is a lot that I could cut off, I just fold and use more tape. This is all ending up in the garbage anyways, right?

Maybe next year I get Christmas bags for everyone…

I finally stopped into a little restaurant I had heard about a year ago. It piqued my interest but for some reason I never made it there to check out. It is a cheesesteak joint called the Philly Way. I got in there on Saturday before I went out shopping and was glad I did. The cheesesteak was fantastic. It followed the “if it is messy, it is probably very tasty” rule to the T. I was tempted to go back on Sunday to get another but the cold kept me in. I should stop by on the way home from work some time and get a great dinner. If you work in downtown Milwaukee, you need to check this place out. Just thinking of the food is making me hungry.